Nek'rahm wrote:Cyan cannot feasibly give the users COMPLETE control of the game. It just isn't possible.
Nek'rahm wrote:Both ways have their arguments, but the latter is nearly impossible. Cyan has spent nearly all the money they had on Uru, Plasma and the corresponding parts. They're not going to just "give" us away the game. It would most certainly put them into bankrupcy from all the money they've wasted, and then there wouldn't even BE a Myst to continue. There would be no Cyan input, there would be no channeled way of progressing things, and even more importantly the game and series would dwindle into obscurity until only the Guilds and a few passerbys would even know of Uru's existence. It would destroy the dreams, expectations, and hard work of hundreds if not thousands of people.
Nek'rahm, After listening through that interview a few times, I have to just say, it sounds like Rand is saying just that. They're telling Turner at this point that the best thing for them to do, is release the rights of the game, to the extent that the game can continue, with not them running it, or Cyan but the community.
"We're trying to get those rights back, we're trying to tell Turner that maybe the best bet for them to make any money in the future is to keep it alive, and the best way to keep it alive is to give it to the people to a certain extent." - Rand
"So you're really thinking that if you can get the rights back that it would be more beneficial for Cyan to just let the community continue the development for you?"
"Beneficial in the sense that things that aren't updated die. And if we can't update it, because we just afford it, because we let people go, the least we can do is keep it alive, all the work, the effort, and technology we put into, at least we can keep it alive by giving it, by letting the community do it."
"So that's, that's really something an option you're telling Turner about"
"Yeah, yeah, there's alot of variation in that option, giving away is a very broad term, there's alot of stuff that can be defined, the small tools, the larger tools, to the entire game engine to the source code. Those are things we have to decide to what extent we give away"
Talking about releasing the source code and game engine for Uru to the fans as a feasible option, and to what extent that those things will be given, everything he said in that part of the interview, points to the fact that Cyan seriously wants to turn over control of the game, not to themselves, not to turner, but to us. That we shall run the game, update the game with our own content, and keep the game alive, at this juncture, until it is viable to actually make money.
The tools are one thing, but discussing letting the community have access to source code and game engine information, the stuff that trully does run the game, thats some serious stuff. No game company I can think of has ever suggested publically before, that they want to let the fans run their game, and take over creation of the content and maintaining the game.
As to how that would work, well, the Guilds have already been set up, The whole point of the Maintainers is to investigate the safety of an age. If this were to happen, I envision that we as the writers would create the ages, the Guild of Maintainers, would then be in charge of taking those ages, and deciding which ones are "safe" enough to release. That being the caliber of the age, the stability of it, bug work and all that jazz.
I honestly believe if this is going to happen, if this option becomes a reality, the Guild system that has started is probably the best feasible option both IC and OOC to run this thing,
Not to mention that we have to take into consideration the fact that we wouldn't be using the PyPrp anymore, nor Blender, we would now be using the same tools that Cyan uses, those tools are already set up to make ages, probably in a similar fashion than the PyPrp, whereas we can only add footstep sounds, and other limited regions, and have to alcscript alot of stuff like the animations ect. Cyan's tools are more than likely already designed to add those things into an age, and point to the files, much like we add footstep regions.
So alot of the stress of programing things like the PyPrp like plasmashop, will be a thing of the past. Now instead the programmers will have their hand at updating the game engine so that the game runs smoother, less lag, less bugs, and basically make it a working engine that can support large numbers of people in one place without server crashes. This way in the future, if Uru takes off yet again, and Cyan can step in and generate new content with us, things will be at the point that the problems, the little things that put a wedge into uru's future like server crashes and bugs and lag, those things will be gone enough that they can focus not on just keeping 24hr customer support and making sure the whole thing doesn't blow up, but instead spend the money coming in on letting the game continue officially with new content created by them. If it comes to that point again.
